I have my first Ironman in Wales on 18th Spetember and was hoping for some advice.
For instance my CTL at the moment is 158 (slowly built up from easrlier this year including run, bike, swim) and my FTP is 330 W. When would you recommend me to start a taper and what should my TSB be on race day? And should I aim to ride at 0.8 IF of 265W? I think that should give me a 5 hour ride at my current body weight of 72kg.
ALso does anone have any specific advice for Wales, it is really hilly and I was wondering should this affect equipment choice? I have a giant trinity pro and was thinking of Zipp disc/808 as I figured despite the hilly route disc is always faster. ANy thoughts or experience welcome.
Furthermore in regards to nutrition what do you guys normally start the bike with? I was thinking of 2x 1 litre bottles behind the saddle and 1x1 litre bottle on the frame (ditching the giant aero framebottle as it is only 400ml), plus the integrated hydration storage system adds another 700ml. So that would be 3.7 litres in total. WHich cold be enough fluids for the bike but obviously weight will be a factor so perhaps I should’nt start with all the fluids that I require? WHat do most people do?
Similarly do you guys also start with all the gels and bars that you are planning to eat on the bike? For me that would be starting with 8 gels and 7 bars which could be doable with jersey pockets and the giant bento box (if that actually works, seems rather flappy to me!).
I guess the big advantage of starting with everything you need is that you dont have to stop at any aid stations; but then again you have to carry around the extra weight on a hilly course! How time consuming is it to stop at the aid stations? DO you have to come to a complete stop and dismount? Will the aid stations workers allow you to take say 3 bars, 3 gels and 2 bottles at the one station or do they only drip feed you with a little at a time?
Sorry for the ramblings but this is my first Ironman, in fact I havent done any HIM or Ironman distance before and the last tri I did was a sprint about 8 years ago so I need as much help as possible, I dont want to have done all the training and screw it up on race day.
If I had disc/808 I’d take them but unless you’re very confident with them in gusty winds I’d also take alternatives then decide which to use on the Saturday depending on the conditions.
Nutrition - if you can handle the provided drinks/food provided on course just take enough to get through 40 miles (covers you in case you miss the first aid station) - there’s aid stations roughly every 20 miles.
I raced wales a few years ago and yes it is very hilly.it is also very windy and exposed to the winds.i ride zipp 808 and changed the front wheel to 202.i would have been blown off with a front 808.kept the 808 on back.bring plenty of gears as well.some of the bike course is on narrow country lanes with gravel on the corners.i also had to use overshoes gloves and a thermal top.
My blog link in signature has my race report from last year. Best Ironman I’ve ever done.
Ride 65-70FTP average and only if necessary over 305 watts in climbs with your FTP. Mine is 320ish last year for race and averaged 225 spiking very rarely over 300.
Ride thin wheel up front, 808 back. I only saw 2 discs there last year. If I go back I would probably risk the disc but still 303 up front. No way 808 up front. I rode 36/52 with a 10 speed setup 11-28 cassette.
Bring kit for any weather. Had nice day last year. Next day the heavens opened like only Wales can. Green green grass of home and all that!
Deep front and disc is fine if you are used to them in gusty conditions and the front is a relatively modern design like Flo with the toroidal profile. First year ( 2011) I did it with an old PX50/ disc and the V section was a bit of a handful in the strong winds that day on the first stretch to Angle. Second year with a Flo60/disc I had no problems. Definitely a TT/disc course, I’m 6’2", 74kg and have an FTP around 320-330w. I only averaged just over 200w (224NP) for 5:43 with an 0.677 IF. An IF of .8 would be suicidal, as would targeting 5 hours unless you are some sort of aero monster. I reckon on a good day you would be looking at somewhere between 5:20 and 5:30 for that course if you wanted to run the marathon.
Make sure you have enough low gears, there are a couple of really sharp climbs each lap that will have you climbing out of the seat if you pick the wrong gears. It not really a high speed cruising course, so a compact would make sense with an 11/28.
Thanks for all the advice so far, I think I will take the disc and 808. I am quite comfprtable with them and think it will be faster if a little bit sluggish on the steep setcions but hey surely over 180km it will make up for it.
With regards to power and IF, I have done quite a lot f training at the 0.75-0.8 IF and think it is acheiable even on such a hilly course. I’m no aero monster but hopefully I can put in a solid ride as cycling is my strong displine. Provided I can take on the nutrition even at .8 IF i have ran strpogly after long rides so hope to do so on race day.
Thanks for all the advice so far, I think I will take the disc and 808. I am quite comfprtable with them and think it will be faster if a little bit sluggish on the steep setcions but hey surely over 180km it will make up for it.
With regards to power and IF, I have done quite a lot f training at the 0.75-0.8 IF and think it is acheiable even on such a hilly course. I’m no aero monster but hopefully I can put in a solid ride as cycling is my strong displine. Provided I can take on the nutrition even at .8 IF i have ran strpogly after long rides so hope to do so on race day.
Hope you prove us all wrong, let us know what your race number is so we can track you.
It’s good that 18 days out you ask for advice on nutrition, state your race strategy, get told to revise it and immediately ignore it having stated you’ve never done a full or a half but somehow you’ll be the first to run off an IF on the bike that no one here, to date, has recommended…
Thanks for all the advice so far, I think I will take the disc and 808. I am quite comfprtable with them and think it will be faster if a little bit sluggish on the steep setcions but hey surely over 180km it will make up for it.
With regards to power and IF, I have done quite a lot f training at the 0.75-0.8 IF and think it is acheiable even on such a hilly course. I’m no aero monster but hopefully I can put in a solid ride as cycling is my strong displine. Provided I can take on the nutrition even at .8 IF i have ran strpogly after long rides so hope to do so on race day.
Hope you prove us all wrong, let us know what your race number is so we can track you.
0.8 is risky on a slow course unless you are a monster runner IMHO. I’m pretty strong on the bike and maybe slightly weaker on the run but good. 100TT and open marathon times 3h46 and 2h51 respectively. I just did Copenhagen and got round in 0.75 IF for a 4h 44 and ran 3h 15. I maybe could have biked slightly harder but wouldn’t have ran as fast with 15w on top on the bike no way. 0.8 is go big or go (walk) home at 5h bike duration. Only you will know what you run like after it and you may only work it out in Tenby
Holy Cow, You CTL is over 150? Does that include swim? I am right around 19-20 hours a week for the past 4 weeks and steady training until them and I was happy is was near 110…doesn’t include swim
Thanks for all the advice so far, I think I will take the disc and 808. I am quite comfprtable with them and think it will be faster if a little bit sluggish on the steep setcions but hey surely over 180km it will make up for it.
With regards to power and IF, I have done quite a lot f training at the 0.75-0.8 IF and think it is acheiable even on such a hilly course. I’m no aero monster but hopefully I can put in a solid ride as cycling is my strong displine. Provided I can take on the nutrition even at .8 IF i have ran strpogly after long rides so hope to do so on race day.
If u do what u say above you will not finish with a run faster than your bike. I guarantee it. U probably won’t finish at all.
0.8 in Wales will end you. Given a likely higher than wanted VI thrown into the mix, and a lumpy run, that sort of IF won’t make a pleasant run. Stick the numbers into best bike split, see what it churns out. Like has already been said, Jesse Thomas won the race and rode a 5.03.
As an aside, IM Wales is an awesome race. I’ve only ever raced two IM, Roth and Wales. Roth world renound for its support, but I’d say Wales edges it. Especially on the run. 4 laps through the town with tremendous support really pulls you round. With typical adverse weather conditions, a 1k run into T1, and the course profile, you will know you have been in a race.
I did Wales back in 2012. It was cool, moderately windy, with some light rain through the day. I had a mechanical issue on the bike, so my bike split ended up pretty slow, but it was a great race. Plan for rain and cold, hope the weather is cool and dry.
I rode a set of pre-Firecrest 404s and didn’t have any trouble with the wind. If I’d had a disc I’d have used it. I’m not sure I’d go deeper on the front, but I weigh a lot less than you (my bike handling is good though). My solid nutrition was stuffed in pockets and taped to my bike frame. I took bottles on course - just sit up a little, keep to the side of the road and take the bottle while moving. If you haven’t done this before, keep it a little slower, focus, and make sure you don’t drop the bottle or knock it out of the volunteer’s hand. Or better yet, practice before the race.
Seconding what a few people have said about pacing the bike: you probably won’t get a 5 hour split and riding at an IF of 0.8 may not turn out that well. Just to add to that… the bike isn’t where the hills will get you, the run is. I made it about 1000m of elevation gain on the run - coupled with bonking around the 10km mark on the run that led to about a 3:46 marathon, where I was hoping for 15 minutes faster. If running hills isn’t your strength then you might want to be conservative on the bike.
If you’re a bit conservative on your bike pacing, then you’ll probably have a decent run and (worst case) potentially lose a few minutes on your time. If you are aggressive with your pacing there’s a high likelihood that you’ll come apart on the run and lose tens of minutes.
